Kakita Ichigiku
Kakita Ichigiku was a bushi duelist and magistrate of the Crane Clan. Early Life When she was a little girl, her mother would call her “Kodora”, which meant “little tiger”. Ichigiku grew up and many considered her a troublemaker. Sins of the Father, by Robert Denton Her father was an artist, who in his later years became a sensei, followed by his other sons. She was inspired by her uncle, Ranmaru, to become a Crane Magistrate which led his father to cast her out of his home. Scenes from the Empire, Part 26, by Robert Denton, Shawn Carman, & Yoon Ha Lee Training When Ichigiku was nine, she was reprimanded by her sensei and uncle Doji Ranmaru, for striking a fellow student during kata practice. Sins of the Father, Part 4 by Robert Denton Kakita Hiro's Suicide Ichigiku used to be stationed on the coast, until an incident Sins of the Father, Part 2, by Robert Denton with a student of the Dancing Steel Dojo, a Mantis samurai cousin to Yoritomo Iwashi. In 1198 she was appointed by the chief magistrate of Shizuka Toshi, Kakita Kazan, to investigate the suicide of Kakita Hiro. It was while she was investigating Hiro's study, that she encountered Kitsuki Kinaro a Dragon Clan bushi duelist and magistrate. The both of them quickly came to the conclusion that it would be in their best interests to work together on solving the mystery behind the strange seppuku. The investigation quickly turn on murdery by poison. Investigation Hiro had been found over an unfinished play, which depicted Hiro's autobiography. They realized Hiro had been blackmailed and forced to produce plays that were fed to him, and he never had written any of his works. During their investigation Ichiguki was saved by Kinaro to become poisoned with a tea cup, and Ichigaku managed to take as prisoner the assassin, but he was timely killed with a poisoned dart from an unknown assailant. Kinaro had had a glimpse of a woman who had been involved, and remembered her face. Kinaro left to the Colonies to get testimony from Hiro's daughter, Kakita Maratai, while Ichigaku remained in the Empire. Eventually Ichiguki realized Kinaro was the only one who accepted Ichigiku for who she was. Kitsuki Kinaro (Coils of Madness flavor) Assassin Dead Ichiguki was hunting in a nearby forest when she saw the woman involved in Hiro's murder. After a fight Ichiguki killed the assassin, but she did not gather any clue about her motivations, but Ichiguki discovered there was another assassin, who most probably was chasing Kinaro in his journey to the Colonies. Scenes from the Empire 28, by Robert Denton, Seth Mason, and Shawn Carman Colonies Ichiguki moved to the Colonies, but in her journey to the Second City she became stuck in a tiny island in front of the Aerie, hosted by Daidoji Katsutomo. No vessel would depart from the secret port at Tsukareru Sencha Mura during the Mantis-Crane War in the Colonies without the consent of the Crane general Daidoji Tametaka. She arranged with the mercenary Chun, her passage away of the island onboard the Tachikaze. When the Mantis invaded the island Ichigiku escaped in the mercenary ship. P'an Ku's Madness In 1199 the Second City was plagued with fires during the riots provoked by the influx of P'an Ku. In the streets of the Licensed Quarter she eventually saw her target, Kinaro. A Goju had wounded and defeated him, and Kakita Maratai was at his side. Ichiguki intervened, killing the assassin. Shortly after they met Bayushi Makubesu, an old friend of her uncle, and the group followed suit to the Imperial District. Sins of the Father, Part 5: Always War, by Robert Denton Hidden Code The group moved to Toshi Ranbo. Makubesu found a hidden code in the unfinished play of Maratai's father, Sins of the Father. He guessed that the point of Hiro's plays was to convey hidden messages to Spider Clan members in public. The prominent courtier Susumu Takada arranged a meeting with Kinaro, in the presence of Ichigiku. The Spider requested Hiro's last play, claiming it had been commissioned by the Kitsuki Daimyo as a gift for the Susumu. Takada confimed that Kinaro had been targeted by Spider assassins not acting under the orders of the Spider. He stated they had nothing of substance connecting the Spider to the playwright's death and the Susumu would politically destroy them unless they dropped the investigation. Kinaro handed over the play to Takada, disappointing Ichiguki. Sins of the Father: Leverage, by Robert Denton Makubesu passed to Ichigiku several copies and originals of the previous Hiro's plays, and she worked with Kinaro to find the messages hidden in such writtens. Sins of the Father: Partners, by Robert Denton Fulfilled Task Makubesu, Ichigiku, and Kinaro worked together, exposing that Spider agents passed the messages during the performances of the plays, working as stageworkers, and marking the encoded sentence to another Spider agent who was watching it. Using these plays, the Spider leadership was able to issue orders across the lands, organizing their forces in spite of vast distances, and in the plain sight of the rest of the Empire. Makubesu realized these plays were used to mark the targets of the Night of the Assassins, such as Tamori Shaitung, Doji Nagori, Moshi Amika and many others. Ichigiku wrote a scroll with these allegations, and alongside Kinaro passed it to Susumu Takada, saying this matter was no longer in their jurisdiction, as it was now under the purview of the Emerald Magistrates. The high ranking Spider courtier was forced to present the scroll to the current Emerald Champion, Utaku Ji-Yun, as the past sins of those who were Spider, currently a Great Clan endorsed by the Empress herself. Sins of the Father: the Shadows of our Pasts, by Robert Denton Falling in Love During the time of the investigation Ichigiku became fond of Kinaro, and he corresponded. Despite it, they followed different paths after the investigation was over, to perform their next duties. External Links * Kakita Ichigiku (The Shadow's Embrance) * Kakita Ichigiku Exp (Coils of Madness) Category:Crane Clan Members Category:Magistrates